Tomball council challengers: lots of good in city, but changes needed

ANNA SCHUMANN

Published 7:00 pm, Monday, April 27, 2009

In the first ever candidate debate hosted by The Potpourri April 22, three candidates for Tomball City Council discussed what they love about Tomball and what they would like to change, including drainage, zoning and development.

Candidates for position two, Mark Stoll and Barbara Tague, debated against each other on stage at Main Street Crossing, which allowed The Potpourri to host the program at the downtown venue. Incumbent Roy Lazenby chose not to debate.

If elected, what changes (if any) would you like to see made to the city council and way the city is run? What would you like to see stay the same?

Mark Stoll, who currently serves as president of the Tomball Economic Development Corp. board of directors said he would like to see the council ask more questions about agenda items. He said he would also like to see more of a future direction in drainage and development and not wait for developers to address drainage on their property. Too many businesses, he said, bypass Tomball because of these issues.

Tague, who serves on a number of boards including president of the Downtown Tomball Association, said she agrees with Stoll that council needs to discuss issues more during meetings but also that citizens should be allowed more time for public comment. The biggest issue, she said, is that meeting minutes are not kept after between 90-120 days after council approval, which she said could be dangerous if a lawsuit were ever filed. She would also like to see drainage addressed more, she said.

What should stay the same?

Stoll said the city’s the current staff is strong, especially Betty Reinbeck, executive director of the economic development corporation. He said Reinbeck is aggressive in soliciting new businesses but when businesses come, her hands are tied because of drainage and zoning issues. He said he believes the city has a good police force, fire department and public works department.

Tague said she believes lots of good things are going on, such as aggressive work in the downtown area that she believes should continue, and great employees including Reinbeck. Tomball has something a lot of cities don’t have, she said, the loyalty of city employees that she believes needs to be maintained.

Requests for changes to the zoning map seem to come to council at every meeting. Do you think zoning needs to be reconsidered? How and why or why not?

Tague said when she was vice chairman of the zoning commission, zoning was presented to council in its infancy stage, and she would like it to be readdressed, as it is a living document, because as it stands, people come to the council and commission with minor issues that turn into major issues.

Stoll said he believes zoning was done backwards and the comprehensive plan, which is currently being worked on, should have come first. Though he believes it was done backwards, he said he knows the city must live with what it has right now, but that doesn’t mean the plan or zoning map are set in stone.

(To Tague) Having been on the commission, do you feel zoning was, as Stoll said, done backwards?

Tague said the first plan from the zoning consultant suggested a comprehensive plan, but when the commission presented it to the council, they said they didn’t want it. By eliminating the comprehensive plan, she said, it brought the cost down but she believes the city didn’t get the product it could have had if it had approved it sooner and is spending more money this way.

(To Stoll) So what can be done to fix zoning now?

Stoll said the comprehensive plan, once implemented, will be a road map for the next 30 years and once enacted, everyone on the commission, council and city staff will have a direction and guidance. Right now, he said, city staff members have to ask administrators if various developments are part of the plan, when it is complete, they will have a direction to go.

A need for increase in services goes along with an increase in population. What does the budget need to look like to maintain or increase services? Should there be budget cuts or an increased tax rate?

Stoll said he understands that the city has a budget to honor, but when his company saw the downturn in the economy, they made budget cuts. There are vital services that need to be maintained, he said, but he doesn’t think department heads were challenged enough to make budget cuts.

Tague said at this point, everyone she knows has been impacted by the economy. She said she believes the city did do extensive budget reductions, but some things she feels are unnecessary at the moment, such as $300,000 for depot renovations. She said it’s the city infrastructure, police and fire departments that need to be addressed and she believes it can be done without a tax increase at this time.

What are some ways to make the city budget mirror a corporation budget in terms of cuts?

Stoll said as businesses try to grow, they also look at what to cut. And like personal budgets, he said, there are things he can wait until next year to spend money on. He said he would not say specifically what could be cut without sitting down with the city’s department heads to discuss what they need first.

Tague said though she does not have the corporate experience Stoll has, she has small business experience. Some things she can see that could be cut include a reduced cost of banquets for city employees, reduction of council membership in organizations and the meetings staff attend. One way to take care of citizens is by reducing council and mayoral salaries. If the city is going to ask department heads to reduce their costs, the council should reduce theirs too, she said.

Position 4

Derek Townsend, a candidate for position four, participated in an empty chair debate as his opponent, incumbent Mary Harvey, chose not to debate.

If elected, what changes (if any) would you like to see made to the city council and way the city is run? What would you like to see stay the same?

Townsend, who has served on boards including Emergency Services Dist. 8, said he believes the city has good things going for it right now and Mayor Gretchen Fagan and city staff have done a good job beautifying the city’s historic depot, but more needs to be done to beautify the town. He said he would like to look into tax abatements for downtown business owners in the amount they spend redoing storefronts or beautifying their stores.

Another thing he would like to address is a need for sidewalks and pathways, with consideration for people in wheelchairs and their safety.

Where would the city find funding for these beautification projects?

Townsend said he thinks the city should look into volunteers at organizations such as churches. Matheson Park, he said, is a perfect example of people working together to better the community. Organizations could take care of different sections of the city, similar to the state’s Adopt a Highway Program. There are enough giving people in the city that if there were a plan, he said, citizens could get done what needs to be done.

He said he wants Tomball to be a place where when people come to town, they know they’re in a town. He would also like crosswalks across Main St., he said.

Has city money been spent in the past on items or events you do not support? What would you do, if elected, to keep such spending from occurring again?

Townsend said it seems to him the city does lots of studies without action, such as a $500,000 study a few years ago that he said led to only burying phone lines. That money, he said, could have funded lots of sidewalks. He said he thinks it is important to have money for projects first before doing studies. If the city is going to do a study, he said, it should be ready to spend money on the project and not bookshelf the study. The city can do cost estimates without spending the money on studies, he said.

A need for increase in services goes along with an increase in population. What does the budget need to look like to maintain or increase services? Should there be budget cuts or an increased tax rate?

Townsend said he is not an expert on the current city budget and doesn’t profess to be. If there’s going to be a tax increase, something that affects citizens’ quality of life, it should be put to a vote, he said.